Matsushita: LCD TV Factory in Malaysia

Matsushita Industrial Co. Ltd., famous for its Panasonic brand, began making LCD TVs in Malaysia. Matsushita’s Malaysia factory is the company’s first facility to manufacture LCD sets in Asia.

Currently, all LCD TV sets sold in the region is manufactured by five factories in Japan. Initially, the factory will produce 30,000 units for the Malaysian market and an additional 20,000 units for export to Singapore. Worldwide demand for LCD TVs is expected to grow to 100 million units by 2010, according to the company.

This might be somewhat old-fashioned in thinking, but I tend to assume that Made in Japan is still worth substantial value. I would be willing to pay more for items that are manufactured in Japan. The same holds true for non-electronics Made in USA and optics-related items Made in Germany.